Sami mythology

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Not much is known of Sami mythology . There are no original sources. Traditions already contain Scandinavian or Christian interpolations . In addition, it is not written from seeds , which diminishes its source value. The Sami mythology is part of the shamanism of Siberia.

Lore

Sami shaman drum

The first account of the Sami religion comes from the Norwegian chronicle Historia Norwegiæ (around 1200), in which the shamanic drums and trance are described. The reports from more eastern areas date from the 17th century.

Drawings on a shaman's drum from Kemi-Lappmark , Finland. Described and illustrated by Johannes Scheffer in his book Lapponia (1673); later as No. 43 in Ernst Manker, Die Lappische Zaubertrommel (1938/1950). Today at the Nordiska museet , Stockholm

Christianization

At that time the Sami had already come into contact with Christianity, first in Eastern Finland with the Orthodox Church , further west with the Catholic Church , then with the Lutherans. The strongest influence on the Sami of Northern Europe came from Lutheran Pietism in northern Sweden. While the Catholic Church was essentially content with baptizing, marrying, and burying the Sami, the Pietists began an active mission with the goal of making them Christians internally as well. That also led to tough action. In 1662 a shaman was burned at the stake for persistent practice of his religion . The sometimes brutal proselytizing continued into the 18th century. Lars Levi Laestadius (1800–1861) tried to integrate the ecstatic tradition of the shamans into his worship in order to make Christianity more acceptable to the Sami.

worldview

The shaman Noaidi ( North Sami) or Nåejtie (South Sami) plays a central role. It creates the connection between the real and the supersensible world. The shaman is male. However, women beyond the fertile period could also have psychic connection without being on an equal footing with their male colleagues in terms of their abilities. In Scandinavia they were called framåt , earlier guap , kweppckas or gåbeskied .

As is often the case, the worldview is divided into three parts: upper world, real world and underworld. The gods live in the upper world, people live in the middle world and the dead live in the underworld, ruled by Jabmaekka , the ruler of the underworld. In the underworld, there are three areas: in Savoaimo live the deceased shamans in Rutaimo lives the evil god Ruto . The deceased live in Jabaimo . They live like on earth and therefore need animal sacrifices to survive.

In the upper world of gods there is the thunder god Hora Galles , the fertility god Vearalden Olmai . Most of the gods of the Sami pantheon are lost, however, the few are usually etymologically based on Scandinavian deities.

The human being has three souls: the spiritual soul, which belongs to the upper world, the middle soul for the bodily functions and the name soul, which the child receives with the naming. The child is given the name of an ancestor who is supposed to transfer his abilities from the underworld to the child. Animals also have several souls.

See also

literature

Web links